Without Title

Saru — monkey — is a subject with deep precedent in Japanese visual culture, from the satirical chōjū-giga handscrolls of the twelfth century to Hasegawa Tōhaku's ink-painted gibbons and the macaque studies of Mori Sosen. Takeda's untitled monkey print extends this lineage through mokuhanga technique. Without a title to direct reading, the work invites attention to its formal handling — the carved articulation of fur and limb, the registration of color blocks against the keyblock impression, and the relationship of the figure to the negative space of the [washi](/glossary/washi) sheet. The monkey carries layered iconographic associations in Japanese tradition: mischief and parody in the chōjū-giga, the messenger role of the Sannō cult at Hiei-zan, and an established place in zodiacal and proverbial imagery. The subject suits an artist whose career has moved between satirical cartoon, fine-art printmaking, and stage comedy, and whose visual practice consistently engages with figures of play and inversion.